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June 21, 2012

DIY Fabric Floorcloth

Mr. Roar and I are heading to Club Med in Florida today. (You can follow our trip there on Twitter or Facebook.) Today while I'm gone we have an AWESOME guest post. Jess and Monica from East Coast Creative offered to post here for the day. I recently fell in love with their blog. It is pack with gorgeous decor and great ideas. They have a fantastic project to share with you today. Welcome ladies!
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Hey there! It's Jess from the East Coast Creative, (formerly The Real Housewives of Bucks County). My best friend, Monica, and I specialize in DIY and design, but most of all, we try to keep it real about our successes and failures along the way. We consider ourselves super lucky to be able to blog together and would love it if you would on by for a visit!

I'm super excited to share this project with you because it opens up a whole world of possibilities for us DIYers who would rather make something custom than buy it at the store. Did you know you can make a floor cloth (basically a floor mat) out of fabric? You totally can. Hallelujah! Plus, it's so ridiculously easy you'll want to make one for every room of your house! Let's get right down to business, shall we?

Step 1: Gather your materials.

Fabric: the amount depends on the size of your mat. I used about 3/4 yard for my kitchen mat, and
1 1/2 yards for my entryway mat)

Rubber Mat Runner: I've seen similar floor mats made with vinyl flooring remnants, but I wanted something sturdy with traction and this fit the bill! Found at Home Depot in the flooring section.

Spray Adhesive

Water-based Polyurethane

Scissors

Duct Tape

Step 2: Using your scissors, cut your rubber mat to size.

I wanted an octagonal shape for my kitchen so I measured the angles and then cut accordingly.

3. Measure and cut your fabric to size. Leave approximately 2-3 inches all the way around your rubber mat, because you'll be wrapping the fabric around it later. Don't forget to iron your fabric before moving to the next step! I used two different fabrics for two different mats. I had extra fabric from the pendant light I made for my kitchen. It's called Waverly Solar Flair in Lime and Indigo, and it's fabulous. I can't remember the name of the other fabric- sorry! But I love.them.to.pieces. (I realize that loving fabric that much is wierd, but I'm ok with that)

4. Determine your fabric placement. Then fold the fabric back about halfway and spray the rubber mat with spray adhesive. Fold the fabric back down, smoothing out the bubbles and wrinkles as you go. Lift the other side of fabric up and repeat that method. The fabric should stick well to the rubber mat.

Don't mind me...just loving on my fabric while smoothing out the wrinkles.

5. Brush a water-based polyurethane on to your fabric. Make sure it's water-based so that your fabric doesn't yellow! This will seal your fabric and protect it from water. You'll also be able to wipe the mat down should anything spill on it (let's be honest, I wish I could poly every surface in my house for this reason). I did 3 coats of poly, letting it dry completely in between coats.

6. Once the final coat has dried, lay your mat fabric-side down on the ground. Begin folding the edges of the fabric towards the center of the rubber mat. Spray each edge with adhesive and press down until it sticks. Then take your duct tape and run it along the edges to create a seal. No one will see the underside of your mat and you'll want the extra security the duct table provides!

To create perfect corners, just follow these simple steps:

1. Grab the corner and fold up towards the center of the mat.

2. Fold one side up flush against the edge of the rubber mat to create a straight line.

3. Fold the opposite side up in the same way until both sides meet in the middle.

Once you've finished duct taping, you're done! Lay your floor cloth down and admire your handiwork. So easy, and so cute! Here's the one I made for the entryway (It's 4 feet by 2 feet, if you were wondering):

And the one for my kitchen:

Because this mat already has traction, it doesn't slide around really at all. However, if you wanted extra stay-put-ability, just run a line of caulk around the edges where the fabric is, and it will better grip the floor.

We'd love for you to stop on over to visit us at East Coast Creative. Monica, and I are always up to something! Thanks so much for having me, Cheri!

Thanks so much Jess. And the rest of you might want to take a trip to East Coast Creative and check out some more great ideas. Thanks for reading.

This is amazing!! I will absolutely be making this for my kitchen! Is this thing really stain-proof? I have an 11 month old who loves to throw his food all over the floor & I don't want my hard work to go to waste if it stains! Thank you so much, this is beautiful, I will be over on your blog right away!:)

This is BRILLIANT!! i just moved & our entryway holds dirt like you wouldn't believe. I have been sweeping and mopping this little 2x3 area 3x a week because it gets so dirty from us just walking in the front door. I've been looking for a little rug for that area, but now I think I'm going to make one this weekend instead! Thanks for posting this!

Well...what an awesome idea! I'm in the process of creating one right now - just waiting for the first coat of poly to dry. I was able to buy some beautiful outdoor fabric on 1/2 price clearance. Now I'll finally be able to have a decent sized mat for our front entryway. Thanks ladies!

Love this idea! We have an older Golden Ret. that is having trouble walking on our wood floors. I have been looking for a hall runner that would go with the rest of our decor. Now I can look for some fabric to coordinate ! Thank you!

I found the runner, however when I brought it home and started to cut to size I noticed that it did not lay flat, it has ripples/bubble. We've weighted it down for a few days and it still did't help. Did you have this problem? Hoping to get this project done in our entry way soon!

I would head to Jess and Monica's blog if you need an answer quickly. This was a guest post here, so I'm not the one to answer the question. There blog is linked above and I'm sure they'll get right back to you. Thanks!

OK doing this today...and I have a few things I did differently (bec I'm too lazy and can't stand to wait for anything). First off....painting w/ a paint brush TAKES WAY TOO LONG. Use a sponge roller. Goes super fast. I also glued my undersides down prior to poly'g. I will poly those seperately as I was afraid they'd be too stiff to stick down once poly'd 3 x's.

I really like this idea, because I have been looking for cute rugs forever but I just don't see the functionality of this other than comfort for standing on? It won't hold dirt or water so I really can't see it useful for a busy entryway or in front of the kitchen sink; am I just looking at this wrong or what?

I really like this idea, because I have been looking for cute rugs forever but I just don't see the functionality of this other than comfort for standing on? It won't hold dirt or water so I really can't see it useful for a busy entryway or in front of the kitchen sink; am I just looking at this wrong or what?

These look fantastic! Great idea! and much cheaper than those adorable mats at Pier One. Great work! I would love to have you link this up on our little blog hop! I think our readers would love it. Come check us out at the Frugal, Crafty, Home blog hop!xoxo, Jordanhttp://www.lilywhite-designs.com/2013/05/thank-you-for-joining-me-and-other-blog.html

I love this idea! Do you think it would work on those squishy ones for the kitchen? I have 2 my husband hates because they grab everything that falls on them and they don't come clean. This would be a great way to recover them!

do you think you could put poly on fabric on a chair cushion? im planning on making fabric cushions on my kitchen stools and found fabric that i love, but im afraid my two little ones will spill stuff all over them and ruin them, wondered if coating the fabric in poly before or after i put the cushions on would prevent that?

Thanks for such a great idea :) I made a area rug[5 feet x 7 feet] for a dining area.I used two rubber mat runners are I needed 5feet wide and luckily the fabric I bought was 5 feet wide so it worked just fine.It was very easy and quick to make!! Going to make one more for family room :)

Found you on Pinterest...I think Im going to try this with an inexpensive runner from Wmart as the base. I need something for the (stinky) dog to sleep on that can be wiped clean. Shouldn't be a problem on carpeting, I hope. Might creep, but small price to pay for fancy schmancy sleeping pad for the big dog.For the kitchen, I think I'll use one of those pretty, cheap, but dumb, printed foam mats that don't last 5 minutes without looking all furry and gross. Maybe add some sleeping pad foam from the camping section to make it extra comfy.

This post is a guest post. If you want answers to your questions, it's best to visit their blog (which is linked at the beginning and end of the post) and email them directly. I haven't made the floor mat, so I can't really answer the questions. Sorry!

You are my new favorite DIYer! I have been searching for the perfect rug at the perfect price for years--and it doesn't exist! You have saved me the heartache of either shelling out the big bucks or settling for something I don't love. I just can't thank you enough!!

PS. So grateful to the most recent pinner for pinning this! I will be pinning it next!

Thank you so much for leaving a comment! If you are asking a question and you do NOT have your profile linked to your email address, I will respond in the comment section, so just come back to check it later. Thanks!